ELB wrote:
I was cranky and overstated the direct subsidies, but it is not quite true that they have existed on postage alone since 1982. They still receive direct subsidy for certain blind, and oveseas citizens, and Congressional franking. They also received significant indirect subisdies for their employee retirement plans up to 1990 or so.
They also receive subsidies in the other forms, like a monopoly on delivering all first class mail (and third class, I believe), plus a monopoly on delivery to mailboxes (specifically established to prevent private companies from delivering mail). The USPS also does not pay federal, state, or local taxes. Other federal agencies are required to use (and pay) the USPS to mail stuff unless there are compelling reasons to use one of the overnight services.
It also has a direct line of credit into the US Treasury, which it has maxed out ($15Bn), which sounds like a direct subsidy to me. They are supposed to pay it back, since it is "credit," but they are going broke again and want Congress to "do something."
Of course Congress could so something like removing both the monopoly restrictions AND the restrictions on how much the USPS can charge -- i.e. actually privatize it -- but I have my doubts.
Yeah, this is a Fannie & Freddie type subsidy. It's not a direct subsidy until it is. $15BB is probably low.
Until about four years ago the US Postal Service was putting into the US Treasury from postage collected One Billion dollars a year. That's a Billion dollars the tax payer didn't have to be taxed. Congress mandated the US Postal Service prefund retirement to the tune of 23 Billion dollars a year until a limit of about 75 billion was reached. Name one other company, entity, or organization that could make a profit under those conditions. If that mandate was removed the US Postal Service would immediately become profitable again. The Postal Service is a bloated beaurecratic system and does need to be trimmed but try to send written communications from any other organization for .43 cents to McCarthy, Alaska from any other part of the US for that cost.